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APMichael James Young Jr., seen in a June 5 police photo, allegedly shot a woman and her father outside a mall.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (June 14) -- A woman and her father were gunned down outside a suburban mall by a man accused of stalking the woman, police said. Authorities were still searching for the shooter.

The shooting happened around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot in front of the mall 's main entrance, Columbia Police Chief Dean Crisp said.

Michael James Young Jr. confronted the woman at the mall , then followed her into the parking lot, where he shot the woman and her father, Crisp said.

Young was free on a $75,000 (?56,000) bond after being arrested June 5 and charged with stalking the woman.

Robert Bell, 49, was shot several times and died at the scene, while his daughter was taken to the hospital, where she was able to talk to investigators, authorities said. Police have not released the woman's name.

Her condition was not known late Wednesday.

Young, 21, was last seen driving away in a green Honda Accord, police said.

Columbiana Centre is the anchor of one of Columbia's busiest retail centers. The mall has more than 110 stores.

The mall remained open after the shooting, officials said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-06-14 01:11:43

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This is a perfect exampleto illustrate why carrying afirearm in publicplaces is quite justifiable. Violence of this type can happen almost anywhere.

I swear it would behoove women who were being stalked (or anyone protecting them) to be armed with a gun. The shooter is in custody now.

2 arrested in South Carolina mall parking lot shooting

Thursday, June 14, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A man accused of repeatedly harassing and stalking his estranged wife before shooting her and slaying her father at a Columbia shopping mall was arrested Thursday, police said.

Michael James Young Jr., 21, was arrested a day after the shootings as his family and friends tried to persuade him to turn himself in, said police Chief Dean Crisp. Charges against Young were not immediately available.

Young had been harassing 21-year-old Shaunna Lynn Bell for about a month before Wednesday night's shootings: police records show he approached her at the mall kiosk where she worked and threatened to damage her parents' car. He was arrested June 5 and charged with stalking her, but freed on $75,000 bail and ordered not to have contact with her.

Authorities said Young confronted Bell on Wednesday evening in a suburban Columbia mall, then followed her outside to a parking lot where her father was waiting and shot them both.

The father, Robert Bell, 49, of Gaston, died at the scene and his daughter was taken to a hospital, where she told investigators who shot her, authorities said.

She was in stable condition at an area hospital Thursday, Crisp said.

The same day as the shootings, she told police Young was harassing her over the telephone. Police were in the process of getting arrest warrants on those charges when Bell and his daughter were shot, Crisp said.

"We did all the we could do in the matter, and the courts did, and we're certainly going to look at our situation," Crisp said, when asked if a stiffer bail could have prevented the shootings.

Earlier Thursday, police also arrested a man they said drove Young away from the shootings. Brian Christian Leagones, 21, has been charged with obstruction of justice and accessory to murder.

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Ohio does have an emergency concealed carry permit, where some proximate threat can be demonstrated (I think getting a TRO is sufficient - not sure). It'd be nice if that were available everywhere. It's still directly administered by the Sheriff's office though, so I doubt any businesss opportunities exist for that niche.